Making weight

Ben is competing in his second wrestling tournament on Saturday.  This one is put on by his wrestling club, which means that it is local, and will also be a big tournament.

Wrestlers are matched by age, experience, and weight.  The weight classes for Ben's age group go in 4-pound increments, and of course you are better off being at the top of one group rather than the bottom of the next.

Ben was weighed on Monday when he registered for the tournament and was just over 56 pounds, putting him in the 60-pound weight class.  Brad had him weighed again on Tuesday night, and he was just under 56, so they moved him down to the 56-pound weight class.  Now we have to keep him below 56 pounds until he is weighed again Friday night.  Once they write his official weight in permanent marker on his arm, he's free to head over to the buffet.

Some ways to keep their weight down are: watching what they eat (no big meals before weighing in), removing extra clothes (they weigh-in wearing only their singlet, which isn't much) and making them go to the bathroom.  Some ways you are not allowed to keep their weight down include: making them vomit, wrapping them in plastic, and making them run laps around the building.  Or, at least, don't let anyone catch you doing these things to your child.

I can't help but laugh (to myself, of course) when they say things like this.  But then I think, they are saying these things for a reason.  The same reason they tell you that you are not allowed to glue your child's flags to the flag belt before his football game.

Being in the lower weight class should help Ben's chances of winning a match, and that would make it a better experience for him.  But what he really needs is more practice and experience, and the best way to get that is by being in a tournament.  He is excited and I am sure he will have fun with it no matter what.

Holiday prep, Texas-style

We picked our pumpkins at Wal-Mart.

We hunted our Christmas tree at Home Depot.

Oh, the memories our kids will have!

16 months

We have now been in Texas for 16 months.  Which is the same amount of time that we lived in England.

Sixteen months is not a long time to live in a place.  I am quite glad we are not moving already.

No guarantees on how long we'll stay here, but for now its becoming home.  Sort of.

Looking forward to seeing what the next 16 months bring.

Chicken rings

For the first two months of kindergarten, Ben asked me almost daily when he would get to buy his lunch.  I was happy to make lunch every day and tried my best not to give in to his request.  But Ben is all about food, and is always quite interested in what everybody else is eating (no idea where he got that trait) and I started to feel bad for the kid.

I went on-line and signed up both kids for school lunch accounts.  Susanna was vaguely interested in the food being served, but if it was just her, I probably could have continued to avoid school lunches for the next 6 years.  Because, really, they're just not that good, and she knows I can do better.

One of my concerns about them buying lunch is, of course, the (seemingly) low quality of the food.  I had seen some trays during my cafeteria visits and I was not impressed.  My other concern was that, once I started, I would sort of like not having to make two lunches at 6:50 a.m.

The plan was to go through the menu each month and pick two days a week for each child to buy lunch.  This is plenty for Susanna; Ben would buy everyday if I let him.  If we have a morning when I was planning to make lunches but suggest at the last minute that they buy instead, Ben is thrilled and doesn't mind not knowing the choices in advance.  Susanna, on the other hand, becomes concerned and needs to know whether she will like one of the three meals on offer.  Often, it turns out, she probably won't.

I know there are nutritional guidelines for school lunches, and there are limits to the amount of fat and calories they can contain.  However, that doesn't mean they are particularly nutritious.  Or tasty.  Some things they serve: chicken rings (???), yogurt combo (which my kids tell me is a Trix yogurt and animal crackers - as the entree), Uncrustables (I admit to occasionally enjoying the crispy, frozen peanut butter they contain, but if I'm paying for school lunch, I want something a bit more labor intensive), and Crispitos (again, straight from the freezer section.)  They serve jello several times a week, and list it by color, not flavor.  Are they worried a parent might think "lime jello" counts as a serving of fruit?

Overall my kids enjoy most of their school lunches, and I enjoy not always having to pack.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Its nearly bedtime on Thanksgiving.  Too late now really for Happy Thanksgiving wishes, but I hope that everyone did have a happy one.  We spent the day with two other families and way too much food.  Everything was delicious (even the things I made.)

My friend's daughter, who is 14, sketched this quick portrait of Susanna.  I scanned it and it came out light due to being done in pencil, but you can sort of see it.  I think its beautiful.

And if you are going shopping tomorrow, good luck with that!

Thanksgiving break

My kids have this whole week off for Thanksgiving - a very welcome break after a busy autumn.  Ben got his week off to a great start by waking up this morning at 5:30.  We heard him upstairs playing Wii.  Its not a quiet early morning activity.

Susanna finally finished her outdoor soccer season on Saturday, and, a few hours later, started her indoor season.  She ended up playing 3 games that day - after her indoor team finished, the next team needed a few extra players.  She ended up playing indoor for 80 minutes with only a few quick breaks.  She wasn't on the winning team for any of the three games but she played well.

Ben had his first wrestling tournament on Saturday morning.  I didn't get to go because of soccer, but I heard plenty about it.  He had to wrestle an experienced wrestler who was a good 5 pounds heavier.  He was thus at a slight disadvantage but he hung in there and gave it a good try.  He won a medal for 2nd place because he and the other kid were the only wrestlers in their weight class.  He wasn't sure about wrestling at first, but he seems to be liking it more.  Brad is having fun giving him pointers at home.

Yesterday we went to the Dallas Children's Theatre to see "Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells".  I am definitely not a Junie B. Jones fan, but the show was really good and we all enjoyed it.

Now we are just taking it easy for a few days and getting ready for Thanksgiving.  And enjoying a few more warm, summery days!

Why girls like wrestling

Two weeks and already I am trying to remember why I thought it was a good idea to sign up Ben for wrestling.  He now practices from 6:15 to 7:30, three nights a week, and that is just a bit much for all of us.  In addition to dragging an already tired five-year-old out to do over an hour of exercise, I also have to drag along a seven-year-old, and then try to keep her from driving me mad as we sit together on the gym floor.

This morning at the bus stop, our neighbor asked us how wrestling was last night.  Susanna immediately answered:

"It was great.  We got to see all the boys with their shirts off."

Maybe getting through all this won't be as hard as I thought.